Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a complex mental illness that affects a person’s thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Schizophrenia patients are usually initially diagnosed during a period of psychosis, (loss of contact with reality) and experience hallucinations (false perceptions) and delusions (false beliefs). Schizophrenia includes a wide variety of symptoms that fall into four main categories. Every patient’s schizophrenia experience is unique, and individuals may experience symptoms from one or all four categories, with the variety and type of symptoms likely to change over time.
Symptoms of Schizophrenia fall into four main categories:
Positive Symptoms
Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia are additional perceptions or a distortion of normal functions. Positive, in this sense means “in addition to” normal functioning.
Examples of Positive Symptoms:
- Hallucinations, (hearing, seeing, smelling, or feeling things that aren’t real)
- Delusions, (Persistent false beliefs, which don’t change even in the face of evidence to the contrary)
Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia are describable as a reduction, absence, or loss of normal functions, in which negative means “minus”.
Examples of Negative Symptoms:
- Slowed thoughts or speech
- Loss of expressed emotions
- Lack of motivation
- Inattention to social or cognitive input
- Reduced social drive and interest
- Inability to feel pleasure
- Thought Disorders
- Disorganized Speech
- Bizarre Behaviors
Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia include deficits in information processing and problem solving.
Examples of Cognitive Symptoms:
- Executive Dysfunction
- Working Memory
- Attention Deficit